Military Romance Collection: Contemporary Soldier Alpha Male Romance (166 page)

Chapter 28

Little had changed. That was Joseph’s first thought as he rode into town. “This is far enough,” he told the coachman, paying him and jumping down with his one bag. He had taken a chance coming home, but he had no delusions of a happy ending. He didn’t expect to be here long, so he had packed lightly for only a couple of days.

He stared up the lane toward the large, expensive houses, focusing on the white and gray one in the middle on the left. He couldn’t see the garden but knew what it would look like. No one was as good with roses as he was, and he expected the roses would not be blooming nearly as much as when he’d been charged with their care.

He wasn’t here to ask for his job back, though he did want to speak with the man who had given him the opportunity and assisted him in finding a place and a mentor to help him with his business. Holding his head high, Joseph marched toward the Ashton residence, not even faltering in his step when he took note of Mrs. Ashton on the porch, fussing with some sort of material.

She looked up as he stood at the base of the stairs and wrinkled her nose. “Whatever are you doing here?” she asked, looking him over with disgust.

“Good morning, Mrs. Ashton. I’ve come to speak to your husband.” He smiled as genuinely as he could muster, though it did little good.

She crossed her arms and shook her head. “You have disrupted my life far too many times, Joseph Watts, and I will not allow you to do any further damage to this family. I suggest you leave before I have you forcibly removed from my property.”

“Forgive me, ma’am, but I haven’t stepped onto your property,” he countered, letting her words roll off his back.

The door opened, and Mr. Ashton stepped out, a broad grin on his face. “Joseph! Good morning.”

Joseph nodded in greeting as Mrs. Ashton turned to her husband, enraged. “Don’t tell me you welcome him here!” she said, clearly offended.

But Mr. Ashton scowled at his wife. “You have been nothing but miserable recently, and I won’t tolerate your poor attitude toward Mr. Watts. He, like me, has worked hard to improve his station, and clearly, he has been very successful at it. Please, have a seat.”

Joseph hesitated. “I appreciate the invitation, but I am short on time. I merely have a question, maybe two, depending on the answer to the first.”

“Go ahead, Mr. Watts.”

Mustering all his courage, Joseph maintained eye contact with the man, pretending his wife wasn’t even present. “Mr. Ashton, sir, has Cora married Mr. Cantrell?”

“The wedding is in a week,” Mrs. Ashton said, her nose in the air.

“I believe he addressed the question to me.” Mr. Ashton was clearly displeased with his wife’s interruption. “Why do you ask, Mr. Watts?” But there was a twinkle in his eye, and Joseph knew he expected the second question.

“Pardon my forwardness, sir, but I know that Cora is unhappy with her engagement to Mr. Cantrell.”

“Nonsense!” Mrs. Ashton blustered. “Charlie is a perfect gentleman and will make Cora a very happy wife.”

“I disagree, with all due respect,” Joseph said carefully. “Mr. Cantrell is a good man, but he is not the right man for Cora.” He turned back to Mr. Ashton, who still smiled. “I love your daughter, sir, and I’ve worked hard to make something of myself to prove that I could adequately care for her. I am not a rich man, but I am no longer a poor one, either. I have a business that is thriving, and in a year or so, I will have employees of my own. I intend to keep working and improving my status. But I ask your permission to seek out Cora’s hand in marriage.”

“That’s sinful!” Mrs. Ashton spat. “She is already engaged.”

“Shut up!” Mr. Ashton snapped. “If you cannot keep your thoughts silent, go into the house and leave us to speak in peace. Cora never wanted to marry Charlie, and you know that as well as I do. You cannot force your daughter to do something to make you appear better in the eyes of others, only to have her suffer. You have driven a wedge between the two of you. I will not let you drive that wedge between me and my daughter as well.”

Clearing his throat, he apologized. “I am sorry for the outburst, young man. I appreciate your candor, and I also appreciate that you have such care for my daughter that you would take the initiative to build a foundation for her, and that you would face my ridiculous wife to ask permission to propose. I cannot tell you what Cora will say or do, but as I said before, I see myself in you, Mr. Watts. I believe you have honor and spirit, and I know you would make a wonderful husband for my daughter, should she accept your offer. I give you my blessing.”

“How could you?” Mrs. Ashton exploded.

Mr. Ashton stood and glared, and she backed down, hatred pouring from her like a waterfall. Joseph was too elated to care. “May I see her?” he asked, anxious to make his case to the woman he had loved since they were children.

“You’ll have to wait,” Mr. Ashton said apologetically. “She has been away for a few days to clear her head, but we expect her back tomorrow. I suggest you find room and board for the night, and you can call on her tomorrow evening.”

Joseph nodded and then bowed with a tip of his hat. “Thank you, sir, for everything.” He raced down the lane, headed toward his old house. He had held onto it, feeling something would bring him back. It seemed his intuition had been right.

Chapter 29

“You look miserable,” Frances told Cora, pouting her lower lip. “What can I do to make this easier for you?”

There was nothing, and Cora simply shook her head as she finished filling her suitcase and closed it. “Nothing will make this right, Frances, but I appreciate everything you’ve done. All I can ask is that you stand beside me at my wedding and offer your love and support.”

“I will support you in anything you choose to do,” Frances told her with a hug. “I only wish I could take the sadness from your eyes.”

“So do I,” Cora told her with a smile.

The front door swung open and slapped shut, and Cora frowned as Emma Tanner came skipping through the door. The younger sister of one of Frances’s old friends, they had all connected and spent a great deal of time together over the past week, and Cora would be sorry to leave her company. “It appears we shall have a new neighbor,” she said, her eyes sparkling and her mouth twisted into a giddy grin.

“Really?” Frances asked, and Cora, too, was intrigued. It wasn’t often new people moved into this area of town, and her curiosity was piqued.

“And he’s quite the vision,” Emma assured them. “Come outside. You can see him from here.”

Cora exchanged glances with Frances, who shrugged and picked up her skirts to follow the younger girl. Cora followed suit and looked where Emma pointed, squinting into the distance. Even from this distance, she knew the silhouette, and she gasped. “Oh, Frances!” she squealed, nearly falling to the ground as she bounced and tripped on the long train of her skirt.

As she began to laugh, it was obvious Frances recognized the figure as well. Emma gazed at them with confusion. “Have I missed some bit of humor?”

Cora shook her head, amazed. She giggled in disbelief and took Frances’s hand, squeezing it tightly. “There is absolutely nothing humorous about this, Emma.” Still, she laughed.

“I don’t understand.” Emma sounded frustrated, but Cora barely noticed.

“Come back inside,” Frances said in a sing-song voice. “You can’t go looking distraught. Let me at least wipe your eyes with a cool rag.” Frances waved to Emma. “Come with us. I’ll explain everything in a moment.”

Cora could barely peel her eyes away and reluctantly followed Frances into the old shack where she’d been so at ease for the past several days. She waited impatiently and fussed as she tried to cooperate with her friend. “I only want you to look your best,” Frances told her. “You’ve been pining away and hoping for this moment forever now. I wouldn’t want it ruined with puffy, swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks.”

“I’m going to cry anyway,” Cora told her, the emotions already welling up inside. “Are you finished yet? You are as bad as Edith, wanting everything to be just so.”

But she complained half in jest. Nothing could deter her from the bright spot of hope that had appeared moments ago. Joseph had come home, and this time, she wouldn’t allow him to leave without her.

“What about Charlie?” Frances asked, obviously trying to rile her up by playing the devil’s advocate.

“Charlie? He’ll be fine. He deserves to be with someone who loves him with as much love as he has to offer.” Cora saw the twinkle in Frances’s eye and thought perhaps she could persuade Charlie to give her friend a chance to spark his interest. “I want him to be happy, and he never would have been with me.” And Cora wanted to be happy as well.

She moved back and forth from one foot to the other, and Frances made a noise of disgust. “All right then. Go on. Go get the boy.” She followed Cora to the door. “And Cora?” The call stopped her as she stepped off the broken boards of the porch. “I think you’ve made the right decision, finally.”

Cora laughed, giddy and anxious, and she hurried down the road, not even caring when the train of her skirt snagged on a sharp rock. She had to get to Joseph before he suddenly disappeared again, like some apparition.

But as she drew near, she noticed that he stood there, still as a statue, staring at his old house. Granted, it had never been much, but Cora had refused to look at it when they had passed by it on their way here. It had fallen into terrible disrepair, and Cora thought it would be better to tear it down and start fresh. Of course, Joseph had memories in the house that he wouldn’t want to lose, especially those of his sister. The wound in Cora’s heart was still fresh, so she could only imagine how Joseph must feel.

She wished her own shack still stood, would have given anything to step foot in it once more.

Joseph’s expression was forlorn, and she didn’t move at first to comfort him. Instead, she stayed back, at least thirty feet away, and watched him, admiring his new dress, the nice suit with no worn spots or patches on it. He had kept it simple with no adornments or fancy cloth, but it was good quality.

But Cora’s patience was short, and her need to touch him overwhelming. It drove her forward, and her foot crunched on some dry grass growing in the road.

Joseph turned, and when their eyes met, Cora froze, her whole body seizing as she waited for his reaction.

Chapter 30

“Cora.”

Her name on his lips, in that low, hoarse tone, enveloped her like a warm blanket, and she took another step forward. “Joseph.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked, looking around as though he didn’t even know where he was.

She drew her brows together. “I could ask you the same thing, what with your disappearance and failure to contact me at all. I had hoped you would at least send me a letter telling me where you had gone.”

He hung his head. “I went away to build my business.”

She made a sound of acknowledgement that had his head popping up. “And did you succeed?”

He shrugged. “It’s growing, but I have by no means amassed the sort of wealth I hoped for.”

Cora stood there for a moment, but she couldn’t hold out, and she ran to him, stopping inches in front of him to gaze into those deliciously brown eyes, seeing into his soul. “Joseph, I don’t care if you have nothing. I don’t care if my parents choose to disinherit me and refuse to acknowledge me as their daughter.” She reached out a trembling hand to touch his face. “I can’t marry Charlie.”

He frowned at her but didn’t pull away from her touch. Neither did he reach for her. “Why not? I’ve told you time and again he would care for you. You would never want for anything.”

This time, Cora shook her head, having the right words to say. “But I would, Joseph. I would long for you, for love.” She smiled. “Do you remember, when we were children, talking about marriage and children and what we wanted? I told you I wanted a husband that I adored. He didn’t have to be rich or handsome or smart. He only had to be worthy of my love.”

She saw Joseph swallow as he nodded. “And I told you I wanted a beautiful woman who worshiped me and believed in me and didn’t care if I had two pennies to rub together.”

She nodded. “Joseph, I love you, with all my heart, and I have for as long as I can remember, even as a child. And the wonderful thing is, you are intelligent and handsome. I’ve seen enough of the wealthy to know that money doesn’t make anyone happy, so I don’t care if you have any of it. Don’t you see?”

The corner of one side of his mouth quirked slightly as he covered her hand on his face. “I’ve never met anyone more beautiful than you, Cora.”

“Then don’t leave me again, Joseph. If you must go, take me with you. Let me be with you, always.”

His smile grew larger. “I don’t suppose I would mind being able to pull your hair now and again as I pleased.”

She narrowed her eyes, trying to decide if he was poking fun or not. “And I wouldn’t mind you rescuing a baby bird for me from time to time.”

In a blur of motion, he swept her into his arms and twirled her in the air, making her squeal and laugh like she hadn’t since they were children. When he set her on her feet, he kissed her, a long, passionate kiss that had her toes curling in her boots. When he released her lips, he hugged her tightly, pressing her head into his shoulder and laughing breathlessly. “Oh, Cora, I don’t know what made me think I could ever live without you.”

She pulled back and searched his face for a sign he was fibbing, but there was only honesty and sincerity. “I love you, Cora. I loved you when I was too young to know what the word meant or how to spell it.” He took her face in his hands. “Cora, I have a little money now. It’s not much, but it’s enough to start. I have no ring to offer you, but we can correct that.”

She stared at him with baited breath. “What are you saying, Joseph? Don’t play games. I’ve waited too long for you.”

“Marry me, Cora. Be my wife. Stay with me and love me, and I will always make sure there is enough to provide for you and our family.”

Her smile was so broad it hurt her face. “Will you give me children? And love? And can we have adventures like we did as children?”

“If that is want you want, it is what you shall have.” He kissed her again but pulled away abruptly. “You haven’t said ‘yes’.”

“Yes! Of course it is a ‘yes’.” She calmed and felt tears prickling her eyes, which made her laugh again. “Oh, Frances will kill me for crying when she only just finished wiping my tears.” In a whisper, she told him, “I was afraid I would never see you again.”

“I’m never going to leave your side again, Cora.” He took her hand and placed it in the crook of his elbow, starting to walk.

“Where are we going?” she asked, confused. “My luggage is there, at Frances’s old house.”

He beamed. “We’ll send for her and the luggage. Now, I want to take you to your house, thank your father for his blessing and announce to him my joy that you said yes, and perhaps even rub your mother’s nose in it a bit. I’m sure that thought doesn’t upset you much.”

Cora laughed riotously. “Joseph Watts, I would be honored to accompany you in that task.” But she stopped him again, pressing a hand to his chest and growing serious for a moment. “You’ve always been my happy place, Joseph. My friend, my hero, my confidante, my partner. Whenever we’ve been together, I have been joyous. I lost that when I lost you.”

He nodded. “I know. I saw it. And I’m sorry.”

But Cora shook her head. “Don’t apologize, Joseph. You’re here now, at my side, and we’re going to be together, always. I just want you to know that you’ve made me a very happy woman, and I will always do everything I can to return that favor.”

He ran his fingers through her loose hair and nodded. “Trust me, Cora. You’ve already done that.”